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New Delhi/Business Desk: There is a very important and big news for crores of taxpayers of the country. The official process of filing Income Tax Return (ITR) for the financial year 2025-26 (Assessment Year 2026-27) has started. The Income Tax Department has made live the Excel Utility of ITR-1 (Sahaj), ITR-2, ITR-3 and ITR-4 (Sugam) forms for the convenience of taxpayers. Along with this, all the necessary forms from ITR-1 to ITR-5 have also been notified. With the help of this offline Excel utility, taxpayers can easily prepare their returns even without internet and later can easily upload them on the e-filing portal. Keep in mind, the last date for filing ITR without any late fee for individual taxpayers has been fixed as 31 July 2026.
What are the major changes in ITR-1 (Sahaj) form this time?
The Income Tax Department has made some important and taxpayer-friendly changes in the structure of ITR-1 form this year, which are important to know before filling the form:
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Exemption of two self-occupied properties: Now eligible taxpayers can give complete information about two self-occupied house properties owned by them in ITR-1 form only.
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New column of Unrealized Rent: If there was any rent from your property which you were legally entitled to receive but due to some reason could not, then a new and special column has been added to the form to provide information about that ‘Unrealized Rent’.
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Relief from foreign retirement benefits: The rule of mandatory reporting of Foreign Retirement Benefits from the form has now been completely removed.
Note: Who cannot fill ITR-1 form?
As per the rules, Sahaj (ITR-1) form is only for those whose income from salary, a house property and other sources (like bank interest) aggregates up to Rs 50 lakh. You cannot use ITR-1 if your sources of income fall in the following categories:
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If your income comes from any business or profession (like doctor, lawyer etc.).
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If you have made short term capital gain (STCG) from stock market or mutual fund.
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If you have long term capital gain (LTCG) of more than Rs 1.25 lakh in the financial year.
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If you are getting rental income from more than one let-out property.
Preparation to file return: Keep these 5 documents with you
The Income Tax Department has given strict instructions not to fill any wrong information in a hurry to file the return. Have the following documents and information ready before logging in:
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Form-16 and Financial Statements: Received Form-16, bank statement and interest certificate from your company.
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Matching of AIS and Form-26AS: Download the Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Form-26AS from your e-filing account and tally your total tax deducted (TDS) amount.
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Re-checking of pre-filled data: Re-verify the pre-filled information on the portal like your PAN, current address, active mobile number, email ID and bank account details to get the refund. Selecting the wrong form or filling incorrect data may result in your return being declared ‘Defective Return’.
Attention Without e-verification your ITR will be considered junk
Many taxpayers relax after uploading the return, which is a big mistake. It is legally mandatory to do e-verification of ITR after filing it. Unless you verify your return, the Income Tax Department does not consider it valid.
If you are not able to verify online (through Aadhaar OTP or net banking) due to any technical reason, you will have to send the signed physical copy of your ITR-V to CPC Bengaluru by post within 30 days of filing the return.
Facility of ITR-U for missed returns and mathematics of late fees
If for some reason you have not filed any of your tax returns for the last four assessment years, the department gives you an opportunity to correct or re-file the same through ‘Updated Return’ i.e. ITR-U (Updated ITR).
But remember, if you file your return after the deadline for this year i.e. 31st July 2026, then you may have to pay a heavy late fee of up to Rs 5,000 (Late Fee under Section 234F), and if there is any tax outstanding, you will also have to pay heavy interest on it. Therefore, to avoid website crash and panic in the last days, check all your documents on time and file your ITR with the correct form.